College basketball

Florida takes over down the stretch

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Florida players were upset after their loss Tuesday at Kentucky and met together to watch tape of the game to see what they did wrong.

They used their lessons Saturday at Tennessee.

Matt Walsh scored 23 and David Lee added 21 and Florida pulled away late in an 84-73 win over the Volunteers.

Florida led by 11 in the first half against Kentucky and by nine in the second before coughing up the lead as the Wildcats took over to win 69-66.

"We just felt like we had Kentucky, and we felt like if we want to win games like that - like this game today - that we needed to change some things," Walsh said. "I think we took some good strides today."

The Gators trailed by three early in the second when Lee hit a basket and Walsh followed with a three-point play to give Florida a 54-52 lead with 12:37 left.

Tennessee tied it at 60 on C.J. Watson's three-pointer and went ahead 65-64 after Major Wingate converted a three-point play with 7:42 remaining, but Anthony Roberson scored and Lee sank a pair of free throws to put Florida back up by three.

This time, the Vols couldn't rally.

Walsh and Lee combined to score the next 11 points for Florida as the Gators pulled away.

Roberson finished with 16 points, Lee added 12 rebounds and Corey Brewer had 10 rebounds for Florida, which avenged an 83-76 loss in overtime to the Vols on Jan. 19 in Gainesville and won for the first time in Knoxville since 2002. Lee was 9-for-9 at the foul line.

"It was really a courageous win for our guys just because Tennessee, I felt, was really ready to play. I think (coach) Buzz (Peterson) had them prepared," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

Donovan suggested his players call a meeting.

"It wasn't anything like they were mad at each other or there was any dissension. It was like, "How do we get everybody together to make the next step as the team?' " Donovan said. Brandon Crump, who was 7-of-9 from the field, finished with 16 for Tennessee. Watson added 15 and Scooter McFadgon had 10. The Vols lost despite shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the floor for the game. The Gators outrebounded them 39-28.

"I am disappointed in the outcome and the final score, but I thought we fought hard and did some good things in a lot of ways," Peterson said.

Crump was back for his second game since missing four straight with a sprained ankle.

Tennessee used a 12-2 run at the beginning of the second half to take a 50-47 lead. McFadgon scored six points during the spurt.

Florida led by as many as six in the first half as Tennessee went 41/2 minutes without a field goal. The Gators were up 41-36 at halftime.

[Last modified February 13, 2005, 01:08:17]